Windescreen Wiper Chatter

[L42B]

Hey Guys,

For some reason my Focus appears to be chewing through a lot of windscreen wipers. I think I've had something like three new pairs in the last six months. The last pair has only lasted a week since the last service. What could be causing this? Or has anyone else had this problem.

I'm completely stumped. I always clean the windscreen of any debree before I go for a drive. Wipers that don't work are dangerous, and I dislike paying $25 for a new pair every few months because they never wipe properly. New wipers don't make a difference.

Also something somewhere is rattling squeaking away over every bump (very loudly), so I'll be getting that checked out this week. Mechanic agrees there is something wrong that needs to be checked out ASAP, but doubts its suspension related. Thank goodness for new car warranty and a competent service agent.

Cheers L42B :(

[Neale]

what is happening to the blades, are they breaking or something.

Also if you arent already using it, Rainex on the windshiled can help, aswell as using a detergent in the washer bottle.

[DZFord]

I used to have the same problem with my wipers, I found the Ford ones to be very noisy and would degrade quite quickly. I switched to Bosch Aerotwin wipers and it's all good now, haven't looked back since.

[DeKa]

I find the Valeo Silencio even better than Bosch ... buy from wiperblades.co.uk as they are *heaps* cheaper.

[pugdriver]

chatter can be a problem where the wiper blade is sitting at the wrong angle on the screen. You can correct it by slightly twisting the wiper arm to make sure the blade sits at the right angle. Sorry I can't post a diagram, I'll have to try to do it with words...

To work properly the rubber edge has to be dragged across the screen - that is, the metal carrier has to be a fraction ahead of the rubber blade, friction on the glass causes the rubber to lag behind the metal carrier. This happens naturally if the blade is at the correct angle to the screen.

If the blade is sitting at an angle to the screen, the blade will be dragged when moving one way and pushed when moving the other way. (ie the rubber is being pushed slightly ahead of the metal carrier. This is when the blade chatters or makes squawking noises. [This also occurs when the rubber is getting old and hard, so new blades can cure it for a while.]
If the blade makes a noise when wiping in one direction, use a pair of pliers to twist the wiper arm a fraction to get the blade to drag the rubber on both the up sweep and down sweep. The noise should disappear.

The noise can also occur if the rubber has gone old and hard, and also if the windscreen has traces of polish or other slippery stuff on it.

These new fangled flat blade wipers seem to be much more sensitive to the blade angle. I have a Peugeot 307 which has enormous wiper blades, and they regularly need a twist one way or the other to quieten the wipers.

Note: 1. twist the wiper arm, not the blade. If you twist the blade it will come apart.
2. it is a fine adjustment - a tiny twist can do the job.

As an aside, does everyone here know that you CAN change the rubbers in these flat blades? I'm not sure if the Focus comes with Bosch or Valeo type blades, but if you do a you tube search on aero wiper rubbers you can see a video on how it's done. You can get the rubbers from European Auto Imports in Box Hill, a Peugeot parts supplier. They are about $10 a side. You cut them to length. I get the Valeo type ones for my Pug, (307) but I believe the 407 uses the Bosch type ones. The method is slightly different for each brand.

Difference between brands: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8kHX...eature=related

Bosch method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zfUG...eature=related

Valeo method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhNDZ...eature=related

[Turbodiesel]

Contrary to this subject, my wiper blades are still good after over 3 years of use and haven't chattered once. Maybe I was lucky!